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J. E. SERRELL & W. DAVIS. LIFE PRESERVBR.

No. 18,869 Patented Dec. 15, '1857 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES E. SERRELL AND \V. DAVIS, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

LIFE-PRESERVER.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 18,869, dated December 15, 1857.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, JAMES E. SERRELL and VVILLIAM DAVIS, of the city, county, and State of New York, have invented, made, and applied to use a new and useful Improvement in Life-Preservers, which we term the Ocean Floating-Jacket; and we do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the construction and operation of the same, reference being had to the annexed drawing, making part of this specification, wherein Figure 1, is a front elevation of the said jacket and Fig. 2, is a plan of the same.

Similar marks of reference indicate the same parts.

F or preserving life from theperils of the sea, various characters of life preservers have been devised, and intended to surround or be attached to the upper part of the body; and some of these have been formed of water proof material filled with air; but all these life preservers are more or less eX- pensive and are, in most cases, too costly to be purchased by the ordinary seaman.

The object of our invention is to obtain a life preserver that can be made or purchased by sailors and others at a small cost, and be efficient at all times, and can be worn in times of danger without being in the way while performing the ordinary duties consequent on seafaring life.

We construct our ocean floating acket of canvas or other suitable material, in a form adapted to the person as at a, with a drawing cord or strap 6, around the lower end, by which the jacket is drawn tight to the person at the waist, and the same may also be buttoned up the front as at c, c, d, d, are the arm holes, and e, the neck of said jacket.

We provide two pockets f f, in front of the jacket, and pockets 9 9, one under each arm, and also pockets h, 72,, on the back similar in shape to the pockets f f. These pockets are to be made of canvas or other suitable material; we however prefer that they be made of oiled canvas. Into eacliof these pocket-s we insert a float of the proper size and shape made in the following manner: We take a bladder or equivalent water proof substance and fill the same with shavings and insert the same into the pockets and sew the same into place.

It will now be apparent that the jacket a, fitting the person loosely and the pockets (f, f, g, g, h, h,) being sewed onto the outside as shown the body will not be subjected to any pressure or strain from the floating material contained in said pockets, and the arms and body are entirely free to be used in swimming; and the whole jacket will not be any hindrance to the performance of any work on board of a sinking ship before it be necessary to take to the water. Our jacket is cheap, convenient, durable, always ready for use, easily put on and requires no inflation.

WVhat we claim as our invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is- The manner herein described of forming floats for the pockets of life preserving j ackets, by filling bladders with shavings or equivalent material substantially as and for the purposes specified.

In witness whereof we have hereunto set our signatures, this thirteenth day of October 1857.

JAMES E. SERRELL. W. DAVIS. Witnessesz.

LEMUnL W'. SERRELL, THOMAS Gr. HAROLD. 

